I'm going to steal you
by InvadingAngel
Summary: Jackson has escaped from prison with the help of his associates. They want him back on the job and they want to employ a resourceful girl from his past, even if she wants no part of it. Possible LR.
1. Prologue

Author's note: this is just the prologue. The story is better written. I wanted to get all this stuff out of the way so I could get to the real meat of my story. Red Eye stories are so hard to write because they all basically sound the same. Well this one does too but I intend to take it another direction. As much as humanly possible I am going to avoid idiotic OOCness that forces the characters to fall in love. I think there might be something later on BUT I'm not going to make it forced. Well enjoy….

"_**I'M GOING TO STEAL YOU"**_

PROLOGUE

Jackson Rippner stood behind the dark wooden table. At his side was a very apprehensive lawyer. The overweight man's eyes flickered toward the defendant who stood still with a blank expression. His icy blue eyes seemed to be locked on to the space of wall in front of him. Jackson wore an expensive black suit. It was tailor made and fit his slim form perfectly. Except now for the budge on his right leg where bandages covered a heel shaped gash. Beneath his crisp white shirt were two bullet wounds covered dressings. Above the spotless shirt was thick gauze held with medical tape to his throat.

Most people with these kinds of injuries would be a sorry sight but not this man. The strong features on his face gave him an air of impartialness. It was almost as if he were saying, "Yeah I have injuries. And…?" it was as if everything around him was a bore.

The judge was an older man. His flesh hung off his face creating the look of an old hound dog. His hackles hung past his mouth. Tiny eyes squinted in to half moon glasses. The sun shined through the glass window and on to the old man's bald head creating a glow through his wispy white hair. He turned toward the jury and asked, "Has the…erm," he cleared his throat, "jury reached a verdict?" he expelled another dry cough.

Juror number 1 stood. She brushed her short black hair from her eyes. She was a young woman and almost looked to young to be a juror let alone the one to read Jackson his fate. She brushed off her black blouse and licked her lips. Agitation filled the assassin as he waited for her to say something. Even annoyed his face remained a black slate but nothing she said mattered, anyway.

"We the jury," she said in her high pitched child-like voice, "find the defendant Jackson Rippner guilty on the charge of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, assault, and breaking and entering."

Jackson felt the tickle of a laugh in his throat. Breaking and entering? They actually bothered with that one? It seemed to be so minuscule and insignificant compared with the other charges in this case. Dark hair fell forward covering his blue eyes. During his stay in the hospital (under heavy security) Jackson's least concern was a trim for his hair.

His lawyer would waddle in to the room everyday and hover over the bed speaking loudly as if he had been deafened not shot and stabbed. His blue eyes would narrow at the lawyer but he wouldn't speak to him except to say, "Would you please leave? I fear I may become suicidal if I spend one more second in your presence. Since I can't get up that leaves us with one option. Doesn't it?" the lawyer would sigh and wobble getting from the small chair that he had managed to not crush, and leave.

Jackson would let his mind wander while he lay there in bed. Escape with a bum leg was not possible so he would have to wait until he healed. In the mean time he filled the hours with thoughts. He thought of her. He thought of the girl who had destroyed his life. Jackson wistfully imagined slicing her throat or shooting her like she and her father had both shot him.

"I think I'll kill your father, then any friends that I can find of yours. After you're alone in this world I'll make you hurt so much that death with be a relief." He told the room while picturing her face. He thought of the terror in her eyes and tried to imagine her reaction to his threat. She would probably go teary eyed, her breath would catch in her throat and she would whimper and ask…no beg him not to do it. Then he would. A smile crossed his hansom face.

Though sometimes his daydreams would go another way…he would picture her face but with no fear. There would be that smile she had had when they first met. She had smiled at him so…the killer would quickly obliterate all those kinds of thoughts from his mind. He knew that he was just confused. He knew it was all just the pain killers. It had to be.

Jackson returned his mind to the trial. The judge coughed again and Jackson had a feeling that the old guy would keel over. It would be nice if he did. There was nothing to gain from it really but things had been going so badly for Jackson lately that it would be nice to see someone else suffer a little.

"This court with reconvene on the…" the judge's already tiny eyes narrowed as he read off the paper, "25th of this month for the sentencing. Until this time Jackson Rippner will be confined to the Florida state penitentiary." The old man coughed and banged his gavel.

The lawyer turned to Rippner and said, "We'll get them in the sentencing. We may not be able to get you off but I think we can still have a victory." The slim man turned away in disgust. He was going to get life in prison. In fact he probably had several life sentences ahead of him. Again he just had to remind himself that it didn't matter. This idiot had nothing to do with his real fate. The bailiff walked up to Jackson and roughly took his arm.

He began to lead the man out of the room through an entrance near the front. It allowed them to avoid the press which waited outside. The case had not been without some level of coverage. The media and the court demanded that Rippner divulge who his clients were. He merely sneered at them much in the same way he had with Lisa.

As the bailiff dragged him out Jackson caught sight of something. His saw a thin girl with light brown hair and strong eyes. She stared back at him. Her face tightened but she seemed to be refusing to give into some emotion. She probably wanted to cry with fear. For the first time during the trial Jackson Rippner smiled. He smirked at the girl and mouthed, "Hey Leese."

Her face betrayed her and she flinched. The bailiff pulled on Rippner forcing him to face forward.

They were now in the small cell that the court house had. Just one small cell. It was more of a cage in a store room but it served as his temporary prison. The bailiff looked him over and began to chuckle.

"What?" he asked flatly.

"It's just that you got some pretty eyes boy." The man said laughing, "And that face of yours!" Jackson raised an eyebrow. What was this imbecile blathering on about?

"And?" he inquired.

"Well." The man said shutting the cell door, "I'm just saying watch your ass in prison. Or more specifically the shower, Jack." Then he broke in to a loud hysterical laugh. The guard left still giggling.

Jackson did nothing. He felt his lip twitch with annoyance at the guard. If that man had been even a foot closer to the cell then Rippner would have been able to break that thick neck with ease. It would have just been a flick of the wrist. Grab the right spot and twist and they just tumble down with a thud. Dead weight.

Jackson pushed his hair away from his icy blue eyes once again and sat down on the bench mounted to the wall. The man sighed and closed his eyes. He rested his forehead in his hands. He began to drift into his own thoughts when he became aware of a presence near him. Jackson lifted his eyes to see a guard. It was not the same one from before. This one was taller and a little wider. The uniform fit but it looked uncomfortable. It still had the other man's nametag attached to the right breast.

The guard said without making eye contact, "Thursday, 2:49 p.m. by the south wall." Then the man left the room without another word. Thursday would be the day. So he would be spending five days in jail? Jackson licked his drying lips. He could handle that. All he would have to do was play nice for a few days. Just stay out of trouble and smile at the female guards. Women always swooned over him. It was actually a very helpful trait in his business. Women were willing to do some much for a hansom stranger.

The smirk he wore now began to fade. They had managed a message to him in the form of a nurse attending to his wounds. As she had addressed his throat she whispered to him about the planes for his rescue and the one condition that would get him out of jail.

The woman had a light Russian accent. As she spoke her lips brushed his ear. The hairs on the back of his neck stood but not because of her, because of what she said. In her husky voice she whispered, "We will free you. You are a valuable resource and we want to continue to use you but there is one thing you must agree to. You must get the girl. When we release you, you are capture and recruit Lisa Reisert."

END OF PROLOGUE

Author's note:

There it is. Like I said this was just to get the initial information out of the way. Here's my thinking if you are saying that it already is stupid. She was the only one to ever fight back against these people and win. If they were smart they would try to get their hands on her. Everyone has a price, right? Well see you in the next chapter. Hopefully. ALSO! Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	2. Finally Safe

I'M GOING TO STEAL YOU

On the third story, stacked atop the other homes was a condo. In the dark solitude of the world at four in the morning there was but one lonely light still on. The blinds were pulled tightly down letting just a few thin lines of light escape. Behind the door of this home, with its shiny new chain lock, there was a young woman.

Lisa sat on the couch with her feet tucked under her legs. The woman stared vacantly at page 107 of her book. She found herself rereading the same words over and over again as she would snap back from her thoughts. Lisa Reisert couldn't stop thinking about the trial that ended five days ago. Well technically six days but it was so early Lisa hardly counted this as the beginning of her day.

A heavy sigh escaped her thick pink lips. She should have been able to move on by this point. He was in jail and this was all behind her. But her mind wouldn't let her put it behind.

Lisa testified from the second day of the trail to the fifth. They asked her questions over and over again, just wording them differently. They bombarded her, then finally allowed her to step down. When it was her father's turn to speak,he told of being at home, of having a man break in and attack him. He admitted to shooting Jackson Rippner and remarked that he'd do it again for all that suffering that man had put his daughter through. After that, several random people from the plane testified, then a forensics expert, and finally Cynthia, who was nervous, and as always, was buzzing around like a humming bird. She had asked Lisa, over and over, what she should say once she got up there. Lisa merely told her, "Answer the questions."

After testifying, Lisa spent the rest of the trial in the back row. She watched, keeping her distance from Jackson and everyone else for that matter. Lisa declined her father's offer to have him there. She also declined his offer to move back in. All she wanted was for life to get back to normal. The trial had been quiet and ended quietly.

It was strange. In all the movies she'd ever seen, when the verdict was handed down, the crowd cheered. Only that didn't happen. Everyone remained in his or her seat. Everyone remained silent. Nobody reacted much at all. They just quietly accepted, "Okay. He did it."

Lisa bent the corner of the page and closed the book. She bent her head down, chestnut colored curls tumbling over her shoulders and around her face. Her eyes flickered up to the clock on the wall. It was late or one could say it was early. She hadn't slept at all that night, but lately that seemed to be a trend, more so than usual, at least.

Lisa pushed her legs out and stretched them while she stretched her arms upward. She made a throaty noise as the joints in her legs popped a little. It felt like the release of some tension in her body. It would have been nice to free her self from mental tension as well, but only one problem at a time. That's what the books had always said. They told her not to pile everything up and take it all on at once. They said just one step at a time.

"Like some alcoholic in AA**," **she muttered. Her voice crackled from lack of use. Lisa swallowed and cleared her throat. "Hello? Hello? Hello?" she said letting her voice slip back to its old smoothness. Once more she swallowed, then stood. Without any real reason, she brushed off the over sized shirt and shorts. They were clean before, but now they were rid of any imaginary crumbs that might have shown up while she read.

Lisa walked over to the window. She ran her fingers over the latch, still in the locked position. The woman then moved over to the door. The door was still locked and chained. Her eyes dropped to her purse which she had let it fall beside the entrance when she came in. Inside the small black bag** was** a checkbook, credit card, a set of keys, and pepper spray. She'd had it for a while, but now kept her hand resting on it whenever she held her purse. It worked like a tiny shield. Or at least it served as comfort.

Lisa pulled her eyes away and flipped off the lights. Her apartment joined the others, plunged into the darkness of night. Lisa moved from the living room, down the hall to her bed, without bumping into a single table or doorway. Her feet knew her home well and rarely steered her wrong.

Lisa began to pick up pillows from her bed and toss them to the floor. When she was down to two pillows she pulled the blanket and sheets back. She sat down and slid her legs under the cool crisp sheets. Her eyes closed as she finally began to feel the tug of sleep.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

Her eyes fluttered open.

"It's the door," she told herself as she pulled herself from the bed. The digital clock on her nightstand told her it was six in the morning. She would have been getting up soon anyway.

As Lisa jogged to the door, she combed her fingers through her hair in an attempt to flatten it and rid herself of bed head. She reached the door and peered through the peephole. A man with very short brown hair stood looking down at his shoes. She didn't recognize him. That could be bad. Then again he could be someone from work; he could be a delivery guy.

Lisa bent down and grabbed the bottle of pepper spray. She tucked her left arm behind her back with her finger on the button. Using her right hand she unlatched the door and undid the chain. Lisa pulled the door open just a bit and said, "Yes?"

"Hey, Leese."

The man raised his head and smirked at her. His blue eyes gleamed, almost glowing. She gasped and shoved the pepper spray in his face. He grabbed her wrist, twisting it and forcing her to drop the can. He pushed her backward. Her feet slipped out from beneath her causing her to tumble. She fell to the floor slamming her head against the corner of the table. Everything went dark.

END of chapter

Well there you are. See you in the next chapter. Oh and I'd like to thank my fabulous beta for all her hard work! If it wasn't for her then this chapter would be as illiterate as the first.


	3. a small headache

Horrible thick throbbing pain was the first thing to fill Lisa Reisert's consciousness. She could feel every beat of her heart in the back of her head. Every gush of blood brought a new wave of pain. She squeezed her eyes tighter.

A thick groan escaped her lips as Lisa began to sit up. She slowly opened her eyes. The woman began to blink away the brightness. Where was she? It was so bright. Her mind was too foggy and the pain was too intense for her to remember. They just kept coming, those waves of pumping pain.

Suddenly the ground beneath her jerked and Lisa's head slammed against a soft wall. Slowly things began to come into focus She looked around. She was lying under a blanket. The blanket from her bed, actually. Windows were in front of her and on both sides.)

"A car," she muttered. She was in a car and lying in the back seat. Lisa squinted her eyes at the back of the driver's head. It was a man. He had very short hair, sort of like a buzz cut but not as military looking. It was just short. He had thin but square shoulders.

Another wave of pain washed over her. Lisa closed her eyes for a moment, just breathing through it. She opened them again. Her eyes wandered up to the rearview mirror. She could see his smooth forehead. The man tilted his head up and glanced in the mirror. The reflection showed enough to bring her back. She saw those blue eyes. When she had first seen this man, those eyes had nearly entranced her. They were bright and clear like the waters of a calm tropical ocean. Of course there was nothing enchanting or calming about them now because Lisa remembered what happened.

She remembered opening the door and seeing him. She remembered how she had been prepared but he had been stronger, wrenching her wrist and causing her to drop the can. Then she remembered falling. She remembered her hair fluttering around her face, edging around the borders of her sight. The falling made ever thing feel surreal. She knew it was a dream, that it couldn't be real. She remembered watching Jackson Rippner enter her home and her life.

The pain dragged her back to the present. She could regret opening the door later. Right now she had to focus. Still, it was so hard with this pain. She closed her eyes. If she slept, then maybe she wouldn't feel this pain.

"No!" her mind screamed, "Don't be stupid. Get out of here or he's going to kill you!"

Lisa bolted up. She threw her hands out to cast off the blanket. As she did, Lisa revealed something she had figured out the second she moved her arms. The woman stared, horrified, at the metal cuffs binding her wrists. She began to twist her wrists and squirm as if it could help.

"Those are for your own protection," a level voice said from the front. Jackson kept his eyes on the road.

"Protection!" she spat. Lisa was a little surprised by herself but she hoped it didn't show.

"Yes, it's for your own protection," he said, "I walk in your door and you fall over. You already have your Sea Breeze today?" he inquired. "If you had landed even a little differently you could have severed your spine."

Lisa's eyes widened a bit. The pain was pretty close to her neck.

"You should act a little more grateful, Leese. I did patch you up. If it weren't for your little spill, we could have been on the road five minutes after I got there. Instead I had to clean up your blood and dress the wound. That's a lot more then you can say for me."

Lisa said nothing for a moment and just let this all sink in. Jackson broke out of jail and into her house. He treated her injury, and then kidnapped her. There was a burning question that had to be answered.

"Where are you taking me?" she demanded; her voice shook only a little. Lisa really wanted to ask, "Why did you kidnap me?" but the "why" would have to wait.

Jackson kept driving and said nothing. Lisa glared at the back of his head. She twisted her wrists back and forth, but to no avail. She wondered vaguely if these were his cuffs from jail. Had he escaped while wearing them?

"Let me go!" she demanded sternly. Her voice shook but not much. He glanced back at her and for a moment their eyes locked. He quickly returned to watching the road. Suddenly the car jerked as he turned. It jerked again then stopped. Jackson had parked.

Lisa's breath felt weak as she watched him climb out of the driver's side door. She could see his shadow pass over him as he circled the car. Jackson pulled the backseat door open and pulled Lisa into a sitting position. He began to unlock the handcuffs.

"Right now I'm going to state the obvious, but for you I think it's necessary. I have escaped from prison and I am a wanted man. I had to shave my head to change my appearance, but that will only go so far. We are about to go into a motel. If you scream for help, run, or even hint that something is wrong I'm going to kill whoever is around. I won't be nearly as nice as I was the first time. So remember I have nothing to lose by slitting the throat of the person you try to contact. Understand?" He twisted the key in the lock and the cuffs slid off.

"Yes." She said quietly. Lisa began to rub her wrists. They were covered with bulging angry red marks. Jackson pulled Lisa to her feet. She became aware of the fact that she was still dressed in last night's PJs. She felt a pang of embarrassment for whoever would see her in this over sized tee shirt and loose shorts. Her bare feet burned on the black parking lot as they walked toward the front office of the small dingy motel.

She felt a warm hand slide across her back and onto her shoulder. Lisa lifted her gaze to glare at Jackson. He kept facing forward as he tightened his grip. They walked together in silence. Jackson paused and gave Lisa stern look before he pushed the door open.

She turned her head to look at him. Jackson still was an attractive man capable of fooling people simply by flashing a smile. His blue eyes sparkled with a light that seemed to come from a laugh not yet audible. His shaved head was smooth and this look worked for him too. She noted that he had removed the bandage from his throat. Only a small line of stitches hinted that something had happened.

A loud chuckle escaped his lips as he roughly shook her shoulder. The show had begun. It was time to play for him. It was time to pretend to be something he wasn't and it was her time too.

The man behind the desk was a little elderly. He was probably about her father's age. The man, whose nametag read, "Tommy" should have retired years ago. But the man with a boy's name seemed so full of life. His eyes lit up at the sight of travelers as he jumped from his seat behind the desk.

"Well how do ya'll do today? Oooh Missy, what happened to your head?" he greeted them warmly. Lisa smiled at him nodding her head a little. She looked over to Jackson. There was no doubt in her mind that this homicidal bastard would take this man's life. Jackson turned to smile to the old man.

"I'm quite well but I'll be even better once we get a room. And this one over here could use a good night's sleep. Lisa fell out of the car earlier today." Again he laughed only this time it wasn't so booming. The old man laughed, too, revealing a tooth missing. Lisa sighed. They weren't in Miami anymore. There was no way to tell if there were even in Florida.

Or maybe there was. She smiled and without looking at Jackson said, "We're passing through here but we were wondering if there were any sites to be seen in the area?" If they were near a big city where there would be something to see, then she would at least get an idea as to where they were and maybe even where they were headed. Lisa felt like she could scream. The pain in her head was still pounding like a jackhammer.

"Well now," Tommy said running his hand through his thinning hair, "I can't say I can think of much that'd be of any interest to you young people."

"That's alright." Jackson cut in. He asked, "Could we get a room?" His voice was harder but those blue eyes sparkled in such a friendly manner that Lisa could almost fall for it all over again.

The old man turned and typed something intoa computer. He smiled up at them and said, "Room 214." He took a few shaky steps over to the wall of keys and handed one to Jackson. The copper glinted just for the few seconds before it dropped through the air from the old man's wrinkly vein-covered hand to Jackson's hand. Once more Jackson smiled and with a nod he said, "Thanks."

Keeping his grip on her, Jackson spun Lisa around and led her out the room. Once they had passed the line of vision from the window Jackson dropped his arm. Hesmoothed out his sleeves as if touching her arm had dirtied him in some way.

"Pretty good, Leese. Maybe you finally do get the gravity of the situation. Now up the stairs," he commanded and gave her a little push. Lisa glared, but obeyed. The concrete steps leading to the second floor pricked and stung her feet.

She turned back to glance at him. If she pushed him down the **stairs,** then maybe her problems would be over, at least for a little while. She'd done it once before, but back then it had been on a carpeted staircase. This was concrete and metal. He would surely break his neck. She had no choice. It was her only escape.

She stopped and held her head. The pain was still so intense but she had to do what she had to do right now. Lisa spun around and extended her arms toward him. Jackson's eyes widened and he quickly dodged. Lisa felt her body falling through the air. She had missed and was now falling down the steps. Before she could even scream, Lisa felt a tug at her wrist. The falling stopped abruptly as Jackson pulled her to her feet. His face had hardened to stone. He held her wrist tightly, his short nails biting into her skin. He dragged her the rest of the way up the stairs and down the hall until they reached a door that read "214". He jammed the key in the lock and twisted it. Jackson shoved her forward.

Lisa could almost feel a déjà vu moment. This time she stuck her arms out and caught herself. Jackson slammed the door, bolted and locked it. He turned to glare at her. His nostrils flared as he puffed in rage.

"If you keep being cute like that, then people are going to get hurt. Namely you. Here's a tip: if you're a clumsy girl, don't try running down the stairs and pushing someone. Because it's probably you who's going to die. I was even going to let that little stunt you pulled earlier slide! Why are you being so selfish? Do you want others to die?"

Lisa sat still. She didn't speak or lift her head. There was really no escape. She swallowed a lump in her throat. She looked over. She had landed next to a queen size bed. It was the only bed in the room. Her eyes snapped up to Rippner, "I'm not sleeping with you." Jackson made a snorting noise.

"Don't flatter yourself, Leese. We had to get a single to appear to be a happy couple." He walked over and grabbed her elbow, yanking her back to her feet. Jackson led her to a door on the other side of the room. He pushed it open, and then he pushed her inside.

It was a bathroom. It was very small and cramped. There was a sink with a spotty mirror above it, a toilet, which appeared to have once been white, and a shower tub combo. Jackson pointed to the tub and said, "Get in."

Lisa stared at him without moving. He rolled his eyes and said, "Still having those emotion based dilemmas? Well, its okay Leese." She felt him touching her hand and for a moment, a pang of fear surged through her. Suddenly she felt something cold clamp around her wrist. She looked down to see those shiny cuffs. Jackson reached over and attached the other cuff to the handicap rail in the tub. Lisa dropped down on to the side of the tub.

Jackson walked out of the small room. From where she sat, Lisa could see him grab a pillow and the blanket from the bed. He took long strides as he crossed the dirty room to toss her the bedding.

"Night Leese," he said, placing his finger above the light switch, "Oh, and remember if you try to do anything stupid even from in here, people will die." With that, he flicked the switch and covered her in darkness. Jackson shut the door, cutting in half a very vile curse word she used to describe him.

Once the bathroom door clicked, Jackson sighed heavily. He dug his nails into his scalp in frustration. "I don't know how long I can tolerate you,"he whispered "But we both know it's a lot longer then they will be able to. You're going to be dead ten minutes after they meet you." Jackson shook his head. He walked over to the bed and sat down facing the heavy closed curtains.

As if on cue, his cell rang. Jackson flipped it open.

"Hello?" he asked. The voice asked some questions and like a good employee, he answered honestly and briefly, "Yes I've got her. No, we're only about halfway there. Another day and we should make it. She's locked in a bathroom. I need to obtain some clothing so that she's not so conspicuous." He listened a moment then replied, "Yeah. No. Okay. Fine. Bye." Jackson flipped the phone closed.

He began to rub his finger over the stitches on his neck. It had become a habit of late, almost a tic. Jackson glanced back at the bathroom door and said, "I don't understand why they want you." He frowned. "You are useless. You are a stupid woman who needs to read self-help books to get through the day. You can't handle this line of work." Even as he said it, something in his mind disagreed.

END OF CHAPTER

Once again I'd like to thank my great Beta. She fixed my mechanical errors, caught a bit of OOCness in Jackson, and pointed out that I posted the last chapter twice. Thanks so much! Also people please review!


	4. Maybe a bad idea

I'm going to steal you

"Ugh!" Lisa moaned slowly waking, her body twisted and her neck stiff at an angle. She squirmed to find a new position. Her eyes were nearly adjusted to this light or lack of light. She could make out her own hand in front of her face and the bigger items in the room like the toilet next to her or the shower curtain pushed back, bunched up on the opposite side of the tub. She twisted a little again. The thin motel pillow had been hardly any help in the night keeping her comfy.

A chill went through her body. Her feet and the end of the blanket were still cold and wet. In her sleep she had inadvertently kicked the knob turning the faucet on. Lisa had immediately woken up and kicked it off. Still that couldn't undo that fact that she would spend the rest of the night cold.

Lisa closed her eyes and leaned back resting her head against the wall. A heavy sigh escaped her lips.

"Time to wake up" Jackson's smooth voice cooed as he strolled through the door flipping on the light. It flickered to life causing Lisa to cry out and cover her eyes. She muttered a curse word as Jackson placed his hand on the side of her face forcing her to look at him. Lisa dropped her arm.

"W-what?" she growled finally looking at him. She sucked in a quick breath. He was looming over her, a pair of very sharp looking scissors in his hand.

"Sit up, Leese" commanded the man. Slowly Lisa edged her self upward. She was still locked to the tub and had very little room to move.

"What are you doing?" her eyes were still filled with fear but her voice was steady. Jackson rolled his eyes clearly agitated with his captive.

"Okay, once again it seems I have to fill you in on the obvious, yes?" she said nothing and he continued, "My guess is we have one, maybe two days tops before your co-workers realize their anal retentive boss isn't there and isn't coming back." Her eyes dropped away from his face. He sighed quickly and grabbed her chin guiding her eyes back to meet his, "Someone may make the connection between_ my _escape and _you're _missing. I'm surprised no one's seen the news report and already tried to call and warn you."

Lisa thought of the night before and not wanting to have to talk to anyone. She just hadn't been in the mood to convince her dad that she was okay or having to talk to Cynthia who called practically every night now. Lisa remembed turning off her cell phone. Not tonight, she had muttered and plugged it in to charge.

"Idiot." She breathed.

She felt a hard tug on her hair as Jackson pulled at it, before snipping off a lock.

"HEY!" she cried more in surprise then anything.

"I know what your thinking and stop." He said cutting off another lock of curled hair, "You'll look just as _pretty_ with short hair." Jackson's voice was over flowing with condescending sarcasm.

He continued roughly chopping at her hair as he spoke, "As I was saying, someone may notice you're not there and report you missing. You can't be selfish about this, Leese. We both have to make sacrifices if we want to get the job done. That's what we do. We stay committed to our job whether we like what we have to do or not."

"What sacrifice have you made?" she roared. Lisa didn't have to be careful with her words for fear of her dad getting hurt this time. She was just looking out for herself in this room. So she'd mouth off if she wanted. Lisa swallowed hard before continuing.

"It doesn't matter much anyway what I look like, right! I mean…you're going to kill me when we get wherever we're going." Her voice had dropped to nearly a whisper. Once again she diverted her eyes. She didn't want to give him the pleasure of seeing her cry.

"Oh Lisa, Lisa, Lisa. Why must you make everything so dramatic? I try to do something simple but you won't allow it." She could sense he was not talking about her hair, "You have to go and be dramatic fighting ever step of the way. You have to complicate the situation. You couldn't have just played along!" he was getting angrier, "You couldn't have just been a good little pawn and done what you were supposed to. Both our lives would have been so much easier for it!" he stopped cutting and brushed her shoulder, knocking off some stray strands of hair. Almost as quickly as his rage had appeared, it faded. Now his face was calm, almost bored.

"You done?" she asked, not daring to guess at how badly he had mutilated her head. He stood up and walked out of the room. Lisa sighed heavily and leaned back, closing her eyes. Suddenly she felt fabric hit her face. She opened her eyes and with her free hand pulled a grey shirt off her face.

"I'm beginning to suspect that maybe the reason you didn't want to go along with the rules," he said leaning over to jam the key in the lock and twisting, "was because you were so depressed at the thought of never seeing me again." He paused as he was pulling away. His face was only inches from her own as he gave her that charming smile that haunted her nightmares. He slipped the cuffs into his pocket and walked out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

Through the thin wood he called, "Change quickly. We have to get going." Lisa shot a hateful look at the door. This should have all been behind her, she thought as she painfully pulled herself from the tub.

He was supposed to be in jail and she was supposed to be getting back to her nice simple mundane life. Why did everything have to go back to this crazy chaos? Why couldn't things stay simple?

Lisa changed into the clothes he had given her. She felt grateful just to be out of those pajamas. As Lisa looked at her reflection in the mirror she was surprised to see he hadn't done nearly as bad cutting her hair as she had thought. Lisa touched her chestnut hair that seemed to be cut with a purposeful mess to it. Lisa was now wearing the outfit he had given her a grey blouse and black skirt. The woman closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the mirror. Slowly tears began to fill her eyes and spill down her face as sobbed quietly. There had to be a way to get out of this situation. There just had to be. Lisa opened her eyes. She would not let Jackson kill her. He had tried before and he had failed. Lisa licked her lips. She sniffled and used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears. The woman threw her shoulders back and glared, deviant at her reflection. She had beaten him before. She could do it again. Lisa threw the door open and stepped in to the hotel room.

It seemed so big for a moment. Being trapped in a cramped tub seemed to make everything else seem larger and more spacious. Her eyes roamed over the room, seeing the TV, the bed, the phone and alarm clock on the nightstand, and finally settled on Jackson.

"The clothes fit." Jackson's smooth voice stated. He stood near the bed slipping a cell phone into his pocket. He was dressed in a crisp whine colored shirt with a pair of black pants and a matching black suit jacket. His attire almost didn't seem to match his new look. That clean red shirt seemed to clash with the scar on his neck. His piercing blue eyes, which were so filled with evil, seemed much more exposed without his bangs playfully falling in front of them. He looked cold and dangerous to Lisa. Then again it might have just been the fact that she could now see through the façade of his boyish good looks.

Slowly but purposefully she walked up to him. She balled her fist to stop her hands from shaking. As she approached him Jackson stared coldly at her, with a hint of curiosity. Lisa narrowed her eyes. She was forming a plan as she went through with it her mind buzzing trying to stay one step ahead of what was actually happening.

"I didn't notice it before," she said carefully. Jackson raised one brow, "but your voice…" she continued, "is nearly back to normal. Only now with a slight _scratch_ to it every now and then." Lisa looked up at him, fire in her eyes, "I should have twisted the pen when I shoved it in your throat."

She reached down to the nightstand with lightening reflexes, grabbing the bulky alarm clock. She swung her arm forward letting her self cry out as she prepared for the impact when it slammed into his head.

But that didn't happen. The alarm clock jerked back half way between his head and the nightstand. Lisa's eyes darted down. The alarm clock, probably like every thing in the room, was tethered down.

"Oh shit." Maybe that was a bad idea…

To Be Continued…Again

A/N: Sorry about the long wait! I really am. But I just regained interest in the story and hope to continue it. I know I don't deserve to have you guys keep reading but do it for Jack and Lisa!

I'm being facetious sorry.


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